Pale-throated sloth

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Pale-throated sloth[1]

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pilosa
Family: Bradypodidae
Genus: Bradypus
Species:
B. tridactylus
Binomial name
Bradypus tridactylus
Pale-throated sloth range

The pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), occasionally known as the ai (/ˈɑːi/),[4] is a species of three-toed sloth that inhabits tropical rainforests in northern South America.

It is similar in appearance to, and often confused with, the brown-throated sloth, which has a much wider distribution. Genetic evidence has been interpreted to suggest the two species diverged only around 400,000 years ago, although the most recent evidence indicates the split was closer to 6 million years.[5][6]

Description

Skull

Pale-throated sloths have a rounded head with a blunt nose and small external ears. The limbs are long and weak, with the arms being nearly twice the length of the hindlimbs. The hands and feet each have three digits, armed with long, arched claws, with the middle claw being the largest and most powerful.[citation needed] Males are 45 to 55 centimetres (18 to 22 in) in head-body length, with a short, 4 to 6 centimetres (1.6 to 2.4 in), tail, and weigh from 3.2 to 6 kilograms (7.1 to 13.2 lb). However, the females are noticeably larger, being from 50 to 75 centimetres (20 to 30 in) in length, and weighing 3.8 to 6.5 kilograms (8.4 to 14.3 lb).[7]

The body is covered with coarse guard hairs up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long, with a finer undercoat. Green algae live mutualistically between the microscopic scales on the surface of the guard hairs, giving the sloth a somewhat greenish appearance that serves as camouflage. Adults are blackish-grey over most of the body, with darker patches distributed over the backs, shoulders, and hips. Males have a bright yellow or orange patch on the back, divided by a central black stripe. Pale-throated sloths are difficult to distinguish from the closely related brown-throated sloth, but, as their name implies, have a pale yellow patch on the throat.[7]

The eyes are large and forward facing for

sense of smell.[7]

Anatomy

Skeleton of pale-throated sloth

The sloth has nine

seminal vesicles.[7]

The mouth is lined by a black

mucosa, although the large and heavy tongue is pink. The palate is wrinkled in texture, and the tongue is lined with numerous grooves, apparently adaptations to the sloth's diet. Like other three-toed sloths, it has just five teeth on each side of the upper jaw, and four on each side of the lower jaw; these are all simple and rounded in shape, with the front teeth in the upper jaw being much smaller than the others. The esophagus is short, but the stomach is large and complex, and there is also a large diverticulum in the cecum.[7]

Distribution and habitat

The pale-throated sloth is found only in the tropical forests of northern South America, including Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, eastern Venezuela and Brazil north of the Amazon River.[2] There are no recognised subspecies.

Behavior and biology

Pale-throated sloths are solitary,

Elizabetha, and Hevea.[9] Known predators include jaguars, margays, harpy eagles, and anacondas.[7]

The pale-throated sloth can hang so securely with its hooklike claws that it even falls asleep in this position. It may even stay suspended in the trees for some time after it dies. They have been reported to spend over eighteen hours each day asleep, and move through the tree canopy only very slowly. They periodically descend from the trees to defecate, depositing a pile of small pellets in a hole dug into the ground. Despite their arboreal lifestyle, they are effective swimmers. Their call is a bird-like whistle described as an "ai-ai" sound.[7]

In addition to their mutualism with green algae, pale-throated sloths are also

commensal with sloth moths, and with certain species of beetle. These insects live in the sloth's fur, and lay their eggs in its dung, on which their larvae feed.[7]

Reproduction

Mating takes place in the trees, with the pair either face to face, or with the male on the female's back. The female gives birth to a single infant after a gestation period of about six months.[10]

The young are born already fully furred, and with open eyes. The young animal clings to the mother's underside for the first month of life, by which time it has reached a weight of around 300 grams (10 oz). They begin to take solid food at three weeks, and are fully weaned some time after the first month. The young initially have soft greyish-brown fur, which darkens and becomes rougher as they age.[7] They reach sexual maturity at around three years.[10]

References

  1. OCLC 62265494
    .
  2. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T3037A47436865.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ Linnæus, Carl (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (in Latin) (10th ed.). Holmiæ: Laurentius Salvius. p. 34. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ^ "ai". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  5. doi:10.1590/S1415-47572003000100002
    .
  6. doi:10.1644/10-MAMM-A-086.1
    .
  7. ^
    S2CID 85870343
    .
  8. S2CID 54226310
    .
  9. ^ "Pale-Throated Sloth: The Animal Files". www.theanimalfiles.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2001.00085.x
    .

External links

Wikispecies has information related to Bradypus tridactylus.
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